State Symbols of the Czech Republic

Large State Coat of Arms

State Flag

The Czech Republic is situated in Central Europe, neighbouring the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Poland.

Regions of the Czech Republic:

Basic data:

Population

10 509 377 (as of 31 March 2010)

Area

78 864 sq.km

The capital city

Praha (Prague)

System of government

a republic

Language

Czech

Highest peak

Sněžka (Snow) Mountain (1602 m above sea level)

Time zone

Central European Time GMT + 1, summer time GMT + 2

Monetary unit

1 Czech crown (Kč/CZK) = 100 halers

Internet domain

.cz

The President of the Czech Republic is Miloš Zeman.

Membership in Organisations

The Czech Republic is a member of:

European Union

WTO

United Nations

NATO

International Monetary Fund

OECD

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

as well as many other organisations

UNESCO World Heritage

The UNESCO World Heritage List includes the following cities and sites: Prague, Český Krumlov, Kutná Hora, the Litomyšl Chateau, Telč, the Lednice-Valtice area, Zelená Hora - St John of Nepomuk Church, Holašovice, Kroměříž (chateau and gardens), the Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc, the Tugendhat Villa in Brno (designed by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe), and St Procopius Basilica and the Jewish Cemetery in Třebíč. For more information, please see www.unesco-czech.cz.

Prominent Figures

The Czechs are described as a very cultural nation which has contributed to the world a large number of prominent figures. The most significant rulers and heads of state include emperor Charles IV and presidents T. G. Masaryk, Edvard Beneš, and Václav Havel. Names of world renown include Jan Amos Komenský (Comenius) “the Teacher of Nations“, scientists Jaroslav Heyrovský (Nobel Prize laureate for chemistry), Otto Wichterle, a Czech chemist who invented contact lenses, and Antonín Holý (professor of honour in medicinal chemistry), who discovered drugs against AIDS. Famous people of culture include composers Bedřich Smetana, Leoš Janáček, Antonín Dvořák and Bohuslav Martinů, writers Franz Kafka, Karel Čapek, Jaroslav Seifert (Nobel Prize laureate), Jaroslav Hašek, Bohumil Hrabal, and Milan Kundera. Winners of the American Academy Award are film directors Miloš Forman (born in former Czechoslovakia), Jiří Menzel, Jan Svěrák, and the singer Markéta Irglová. Painters to be named are František Kupka and Alfons Mucha. Athletes of world renown include Emil Zátopek, Petr Čech, Jaromír Jágr, Dominik Hašek, Pavel Nedvěd, Jan Železný, Kateřina Neumannová, Martina Sáblíková and many others. Petra Kvitová, Martina Navrátilová and Ivan Lendl are also of Czech origin.

The biggest cities of the Czech Republic

city

number of inhabitants

Praha

1 180 100

Brno

366 000

Ostrava

310 000

Plzeň

163 000

Olomouc

100 000

Liberec

98 000

České Budějovice

95 000

Ústí nad Labem

95 000

Hradec Králové

94 000

Pardubice

88 000

Practical information

Country dialling code: +420. Details regarding phone numbers are available at the following web site: www.zlatestranky.cz. Licences to operate mobile phone networks in the Czech Republic have been awarded to the following companies: Telefónica O2 Czech Republic, a.s., T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s., and Vodafone Czech Republic a.s.

The most commonly used credit cards in the Czech Republic are: Eurocard/MasterCard, Maestro and Visa.

Other useful information on the Czech Republic is at undefined www.czech.cz .